Bees, butterflies, and beautiful blooms, if you start to notice more of these joyous little spectacles of nature it’s because March 20th is drawing near which marks the first day of spring! Spring welcomes us with a wide variety of beautiful blossoms and- unfortunately for some of us- allergy sniffles as well. Here are some flowers and little creatures you could look forward to spotting during spring.
Daffodils are March’s birth flower. They come in shades of yellow, orange, and white. They are one of the earliest flowers you could see blossoming at the beginning of spring. Because of their early blooming, daffodils are seen to symbolize not only the start of spring but rebirth and new beginnings as well. If you become interested in planting some daffodils of your own, make sure you are prepared to start planting in the fall.
Honeybees are nature’s most valued hard workers in the spring who help keep our flowers blooming! They provide different types of nutritious honey depending on the season. Honey production is at its’ peak when the weather is warmest, but bees can still collect honey from blossoms that bloom in the winter from different agricultural fields that produce fruits that grow along with flowers. Honeybees are also great at communicating with each other where to collect pollen. They are known to do a little dance to let others know when a good pollination spot is found.
Painted ladies are a species of butterflies that are commonly found in California during warmer seasons. In the spring, painted ladies will exit their breeding season and begin their migration. Painted ladies are long travelers and migrate between 7,450 to 8,700 miles. Their migration is quite the spectacle to see and could be seen during March as they travel from Mexico through California. Be sure to look out for them as they pass through!
Milkweed is a beneficial plant that is used to attract monarch butterflies. When monarchs are in their caterpillar stage, this is their go-to housing plant. It is highly encouraged that we begin to plant more milkweed due to the decline of the monarch species. Heart-leaf milkweed is a species of milkweed that is native to North America and is pictured in the image to the left.If you are interested in milkweed, these are the flowers you could look forward to seeing in late spring.
Heart-leaf milkweed blooms with minimal care required. They require low water intake and grow in well-drained soil. Ideally, heart-leaf milkweed is grown in sand or loam soil types. They are, for the most part, pest and disease-free. With lots of sun and love, you could grow and admire some heart-leaf milkweed yourself in your own backyard.
Monarch butterflies are seen as meaningful and spiritual creatures in Mexico. They spend most of their time in the mountains and forests of Mexico and migrate through California from October through February. Although we do not get a chance to see these butterflies during spring, it’s still important for us to think about the things we could do now to help the monarch butterfly population. Deforestation and changing temperatures due to climate change are causing monarchs to lose their habitats and disrupt their migration patterns. Small actions like planting milkweed as mentioned could help make a difference in the declining population of monarchs.
Work Cited
“Asclepias Cordifolia (HeartleafMilkweed).” Gardenia.net,2022,
Boeckmann, Catherine. “Daffodils.” Almanac.com, 2022,
Isenberg, Meara. “Painted Lady Butterflies Make an Extreme Migration across the
Scorching Sahara Desert.” CNET, CNET, 24 June 2021,
“Monarch Butterfly.” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, 2021,
Uyeno, Greg. “Here's All the Buzz about Honeybees.” LiveScience, Purch, 13 Nov.